Marketing Monday

I had a great conversation with a client last week about the best way to take advantage of the New Year in your biz — especially when your marketing has stalled. Business cards lay dormant at the bottom of you bag. Phone calls and emails unreturned and almost forgotten and it’s been weeks since you’ve been in the office for a full-day. Sound familiar? After a busy fall and hectic holiday season it can often feel like you’re back at work for the first time in ages when January finally rolls around.

A huge enemy of the small business owners is loss of momentum. But how do you keep on trucking when it’s been a while since you’ve actively marketed your business?

Here’s my simple trick:

Use January as your time for reconnection.

You see pretty much everyone had crazy busy falls and hectic holiday seasons. So instead of beating yourself up for not following-up sooner or being more proactive marketing your business, use January for what it is meant to be.

A fresh start.

A New Year.

And a great opportunity to reach out to your contacts and leads and reconnect. 

I think you can use “Happy New Year” or “Let’s Reconnect” as your reason for emailing or calling very easily through the end of January. But if you’re calling to wish me a happy new year and check-in in April then we really need to talk!

Your Marketing Monday assignment is to take advantage of the opening the season has given you and spend the rest of the month reconnecting with your peeps!

Marketing Monday

It’s official! The New Year is here whether we are ready or not.

For those of you like me who are back to work for the first day after the holiday break, I hope you are well rested and ready to do great things in 2013.

Today’s Marketing Monday is a video tip about a practice I adopted a few years ago and has made a big difference in my ability to stay on track as the year progresses and the energy from the New Year wans. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to watch and adopt this simple practice as well.

Cross Planning of Your List

Hard to believe but my Napkin Note Biz Plan virtual workshop + planning retreat is only a week away! If you’re looking for a surefire system to create a business and marketing plan that actually works and honors you, I hope you’ll consider joining me and the fabulous folks who have already registered for a transformative day of planning and action. Learn more and register here =>http://brightideasforbiz.com/grow-your-biz-2013/

I hope you had a nice holiday and are looking forward to the New Year. I spent much of the last week on the couch suffering from a bad back and cold and I’m very much looking forward to starting fresh in 2013.

But before we move forward it is important to look back. I’ve filmed a lot of video tips for you this year and thought the perfect way to end the year would be by sharing the top five again.

And as you prep for 2013 in your business, remember I’m hosting a virtual planning retreat and workshop on January 14 where I’ll share with you my brand new Napkin Note Marketing Plan system. I hope you can join me that day and learn the same secrets that have taken my biz past the six-figure mark. >> Get more details here

#5 — Are you getting paid what you are worth?

#4 — Why you need a welcome video on your website

#3 — Master Networking for Your Business

#2 — How to Legally Spy on Your Competition Using Google Alerts

#1 — How to Create Your 2012 Marketing Calendar

It seems like everyone has been talking about marketing and business plans for the last month. The New Year is a popular time to pause and review your triumphs and failures over the past year. It’s also the time of year that most business owners sit down and establish business goals for the upcoming year, but unfortunately too often that is where the planning ends.

During this crazy time around the holiday season, much of the business community actually slows down since it is accepted to do so during this time of year. I encourage you to take advantage of this lull and make an appointment with yourself before the end of the year to focus on your business one morning or afternoon. I suggest getting out of your office, but if you must stay there turn off your phone and close the email so you are free of distractions.

Here are a few of the benefits you will receive by working on your business and marketing plan:

You dedicate time to work on your business instead of in it
If you’re not familiar with this concept you need to read Michael Gerber’s The E-Myth Revisited. It will open your eyes. More than likely you spend most of your time as a technician working in your business instead of as an entrepreneur controlling the big vision and working on your business.

You get clear on your business goals
How can you steer the ship if you have no idea where it is headed? Goal setting is an essential part of building your marketing plan. Once you have the goals in place, your marketing plan is all about finding ways to achieve those goals.

You think through the tough issues
Running a business is not easy and as a small business owner wearing multiple hats you don’t always have the luxury of time when you need to make touch decisions. The process of developing your business and marketing plan forces you to answer questions about your products and services, your competition, target market and your brand. Knowing the answers to these questions ahead of time will make it easier to make tough decisions on a deadline.

You don’t need to hesitate when presented with a marketing opportunity
To effectively market your business you need to always be on the lookout for new or unusual marketing opportunities. Another benefit of working on your marketing plan is having done all the hard work at the beginning of the year. This means you will be able to more easily take advantage of opportunities as they arise. You’ll be prepared to respond and will have a better sense if it is a worthwhile opportunity.

You plan so you can be flexible
The ultimate benefit to creating a marketing plan for your small business is it affords you the luxury of being flexible. If you have a marketing plan in place it is easier to track results and know if promotions are working. If you are not seeing the results you want, you can easily change your approach and try something new.

As you can see there are many business benefits to developing a marketing plan. But it all starts with you. If you want further help, consider doing a Marketing Tune-Up with me to get personalized attention on your business.

Marketing Monday

Always have a client attraction plan, even when you’re busy

Don’t wait until you NEED clients to start trying to attract them…it can be too late by then.

You always want new potential clients coming your way. This is why consistent marketing is key to breaking your biz out of feast or famine mode.  Most client relationships take months to nurture. So the prospect you meet today could become a customer six months or more from now.

Remember if you’re plate is full, you can put new clients on a waiting list (and ironically, a waiting list can make you seem more attractive to your prospect)…or, if applicable, you can put together a group where you can serve a number of clients at once.

Regardless, NEVER stop marketing even when you are super busy.

Marketing Monday

Note From Ally

Hi everyone — I LOVE Marketing Monday and using Monday’s as the day to focus on my business have been a big part of my own success and I know my loyal readers look forward to my tips each week but I’m ready to shake things up at bit. So instead of just a weekly video, I’m going to play with some other mediums as well. The important thing is you’ll still get a weekly tip from moi, but some weeks it might be a video, others it will be a quick tip, article or Q&A.

This week is our first Q&A! And if you have a burning question you’d like me to answer on this blog you can do so here.

“How can I put my toe in the water regarding social media?” – Kim, Consultant

Ally says:

Kim, thanks for your question. I really like it because social media can be scary sometimes. There’s a lot to it and it can be a very big time sink.  So, if you haven’t gotten in there yet, being a little hesitant is fine. I’d rather see you do it well than waste your time. And contrary to popular belief not everyone is on social media (just ask my parents!).

Not being an early adapter to everything is totally fine. When you look at the social media options that are out there, you’ll find there are dozens of different networks that are niche specific.  For example, say if you’re a photographer or if you run a knitting business or perhaps lead kayaking trips, there are specific social networks for people interested in those activities.  To put your toe in effectively, you need to know who you’re talking to (your target market) and where they are most likely already hanging out online.

When getting started, I suggest you only pay attention to what I call the “big four.” But at the same time, don’t dive into all of them at once. Pick one and get comfortable before adding another network to the mix. The big four are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. People ask my why I haven’t changed it to the “big six” and added Google+ and Pinterest to the mix. Here’s why: like you I am not an early adopter. I do not have the time to make my business a guinea pig by testing out new networks that may be extinct before they really matter. Instead, I rely on proven marketing methods that I know work. We all remember that there was MySpace and now there’s Facebook.  Social media moves and changes.

To get started, pick the one network where you think your clients are already hanging out.  My advice is someone who has a professional service business — a coach or someone who focuses more B-to-B should start with LinkedIn. It’s a strictly professional space, like one of those after hours networking events that’s running 24/7.

If you are in a more consumer driven company, Facebook is a great option.  It doesn’t mean that if you’re in a professional service you shouldn’t be on Facebook, it’s just not the best place to start. What I like about Facebook is I find it very user-friendly and there are a lot of great people on there who are talking about business and other things.  What I don’t like about Facebook is that it is where everyone in your life comes together and mixes. Not only do I have business colleagues connected to me on Facebook, but I also have my young cousins, other family members and high school and college friends all in once place. Friends lists and the privacy features are huge if your mix of Facebook friends start to resemble a really bad reunion.

The bottom line when you are exploring social media is don’t do it all at once.  Start small. Pick one network to get started, have a goal for how it will help your business, and dive in slowly.  Don’t do everything at once, because you’ll quickly be overwhelmed and that’s not the point of adding social media to your marketing mix.

 Get Your Marketing Questions Answered

Do you have questions about your marketing strategy? Wonder if you are headed in the right direction? Ever wish you had your own Marketing Director you could brainstorm with and bounce ideas off? You are not alone. Most small business owners do and I’d like to help.  Ask me your questions about marketing and get the answers you need to succeed.

If you have a question about marketing you’d like Ally to answer, click here to fill out her online form.

Marketing Monday

Today’s Marketing Monday tip is extra special not only because it is a good reminder that we should always be showing off our work but because my guest stepped up to a challenge I put out there! Please welcome Diane Cook Johnson from Soft Touch Farm as she share’s her tip this Monday.

Marketing Monday

I’m prepping for the holiday and my 3-day work week by sharing with you a skill I have developed that has nothing to do with marketing but everything to do with my business being successful. Watch today’s Marketing Monday video to learn more…

You can learn more about the book, Kindness@Work, I mention in this video by visiting the website www.kindnessatworkebook.com.